For the first time, the Federal Police indicted smugglers and “coyotes” who work in the irregular migration of Brazilians to the United States with manslaughter. The intention is to try to rigorously repress the crime of illegal promotion of migration that aims to enter American territory through the border with Mexico – an undertaking in which at least eight Brazilians have died since 2020.
The PF tactic was used to try to hold accountable those responsible for the migration of Ayron Henrickson Fernandes Gonçalves, 21. The young man fell ill and died during the crossing last year, being abandoned by the coyote.
Erlon Gomes da Silva and Evânio ParaÃso Pires were indicted for manslaughter (when there is no intention to kill), promoting illegal migration, criminal association and illegally sending a minor abroad. The PF indicted the two not only for the case of Gonçalves, but for all the cases discovered during the investigations. Erlon alone was responsible for bringing more than 200 people to the US, including children.
According to the corporation, the incident that resulted in the death of Gonçalves can be classified as manslaughter because whoever promoted the irregular migration acted with negligence and recklessness. This is because he organized the crossing knowing the risks to the migrant’s life.
“Furthermore, even though Erlon and Evânio took the risk of transporting Ayron to the USA illegally, they failed to zeal for the safety of the emigrant, being unequivocally negligent and also reckless, considering that the result was fully predictable, but even so, those investigated acted to commit the crime,” the police said in the inquiry.
Despite the PF’s manifestation, the MPF (Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office) understood that the people responsible for promoting migration should not be held accountable for manslaughter and criminal association. The agency filed a complaint only for the crimes of promoting illegal migration and illegal sending of minors abroad.
According to the survey, Erlon was responsible for effectively promoting the migration of Gonçalves, purchasing the tickets, receiving the money, arranging the trip and planning the migration.
Evânio, who resided in Mexico, was indicated as the articulator of the criminal scheme: he planned the logistical scheme, as well as the necessary structure for the crossing. According to investigations, he was responsible for receiving Gonçalves when he arrived from Mexico and forwarding the young man to Mexicali (in the state of Baja California), where a Mexican middleman was waiting for him.
The police also point out the participation of David Gonçalves dos Santos in activities to promote illegal migration and illegal sending of minors abroad. He was responsible for enticing people in Brazil.
Guilherme Favetti, a criminal lawyer and master in constitutional law, explains that it is possible to classify negligent, reckless or imperfect conduct that results in the death of another person as manslaughter; there would be no need for the agent to be present at the place of death so that the criminal classification can be characterized.
For the specialist, a person who promotes irregular migration can also be liable for manslaughter, but this depends on each case. “In the recent operation Relicta Mori [ocorrida após a investigação da morte de Gonçalves], Brazilians arrested for brokering the migration of people to the US via Mexico were not effectively those who crossed the border with the migrants. Therefore, it is difficult, legally, to attribute blame for the death of one of them to the brokers”, he says.
Bruna Luppi Leite Moraes, a criminal lawyer at Bialski Advogados, believes that a person directly linked to the promotion of irregular migration of someone who dies can be indicted for manslaughter.
“The crime of promoting migration aims to make the agent who organizes this crossing responsible, but this does not exempt the person from responsibility for the integrity of the person”, he says. “In this case, someone died due to a neglect of those who had the duty to care for the integrity of those who hired him.”
Erlon de Almeida and David Santos were arrested on June 21 during the Federal Police operation. According to the Secretary of Justice and Public Security of Minas Gerais, the first was released by means of a release order after posting bail last Wednesday (10); David remains detained at the Provisional Relocation Center in Governador Valadares.
There is an open arrest warrant in the name of Evânio Pires. Sought, Erlon’s defense declined to comment. THE Sheet could not make contact with the defenses of Evanio and David.
The Federal Police investigation pointed out that young Ayron Gonçalves took a plane in Rio de Janeiro on April 10, 2021, bound for Mexico. He went to Mexicali, but did not reach American territory, having died from acute respiratory failure caused by pulmonary edema.
The body was found on April 19, six days after the failed attempt. The family, however, only discovered the outcome of the story five months after the death. According to the young man’s mother told the Sheet, he was buried as a pauper in Mexicali, and recognition took place through photography. Relatives try to have access to the original death certificate to regularize bureaucratic procedures in Brazil.
